SANTIAGO DE Chile – Authorities and representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries’ National Statistics Offices will debate issues relevant to the region’s statistical development at the Thirteenth Meeting of the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which will take place on November 25-27, 2025 at the regional organization’s main headquarters in Santiago, Chile.
The meeting will be inaugurated on Tuesday, November 25, at 10 a.m. local time (UTC/GMT -3) by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s executive secretary, and Mildred Martínez, general director of the National Office of Statistics (ONE) of the Dominican Republic, which is the country serving as Chair of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC.
At this gathering, member states will address progress and challenges in relation to data governance and administration in national statistical systems. They will also debate about adapting legislation on statistics to the digital transformation and growing demands for information. In addition, they will analyse experiences with administrative records governance and information asset management within institutions, reflecting on how to enhance trust, quality and coordination in data production and use for decision-making.
Those attending will participate as well in a session entitled “Measuring Development beyond GDP: Challenges and Opportunities,” an open and informal dialogue that will be held in the framework of the consultations of the high-level expert group on the Beyond GDP initiative, established in 2025 by the United Nations Secretary-General. It seeks to examine the limitations of GDP as the main indicator of progress and consider alternatives that would better reflect the multidimensional nature of sustainable development, including the social, environmental and human well-being dimensions.
The Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA) is a subsidiary body of ECLAC and is the main forum for discussing the development of statistics in the region. Its main mandates include promoting the development and improvement of national statistics and their international comparability, along with international, regional and bilateral cooperation between national offices and international and regional agencies.
Currently, the Conference’s activities are framed within the Strategic Plan, 2015-2025, which establishes as pillars of action the achievement of more robust institutions and a stronger governing role for national statistical offices; the development of human resources and statistical production in order to ensure quality; and regional and international coordination and cooperation for the development of official statistics in the region.
